Skip to main content

Reference

You can configure things in two ways:

  • Command-line arguments for the test runner
  • Environment variables for Knapsack Pro

Unless specified otherwise, everything on this page is environment variables.

Command-line arguments​

You can pass command-line arguments using the Rake argument syntax:

bundle exec rake "knapsack_pro:queue:rspec[--tag focus --profile]"
# ==
bundle exec rake rspec --tag focus --profile

Or using the knapsack_pro binary:

knapsack_pro rspec "--tag focus --profile"
# ==
bundle exec rake rspec --tag focus --profile

KNAPSACK_PRO_BRANCH​

Git branch under test.

You don't need to set it if either:

  • Your CI is one of the supported CIs
  • You are using KNAPSACK_PRO_REPOSITORY_ADAPTER=git and KNAPSACK_PRO_PROJECT_DIR

In some cases, particularly for pull request merge commits or if the CI provider checks out a specific git commit during the build process, Git might only expose HEAD instead of the actual branch name.

KNAPSACK_PRO_BRANCH_ENCRYPTED​

Enable Branch Name Encryption.

Default: false

Available: false | true

KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_BUILD_ID​

Unique ID that identifies a CI build. It must be the same for all the parallel CI nodes.

Default: Knapsack Pro will take it from the CI environment (see supported CIs)

If your CI is not supported, you may generate a build ID with KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_BUILD_ID=$(openssl rand -base64 32) and make it available to all parallel nodes.

KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_INDEX​

Index of current CI node (first should be 0, second should be 1, etc.).

Default: Knapsack Pro will take it from the CI environment (see supported CIs)

If your CI is not supported, you need to set it manually.

KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_RETRY_COUNT​

A retry count of the current CI node in case of a single node/job retry.

There is no need to set this for the following CI providers that are supported out of the box:

  • GitHub Actions
  • Buildkite

For other CI providers:

If you use KNAPSACK_PRO_FIXED_QUEUE_SPLIT=true or KNAPSACK_PRO_FIXED_TEST_SUITE_SPLIT=true, you need to set KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_RETRY_COUNT=1 when retrying a single node to disable Fallback Mode. Otherwise, the CI node would use a different (fallback) split and run a different subset of tests when the API cannot be reached. Alternatively, disable Fallback Mode completely with KNAPSACK_PRO_FALLBACK_MODE_ENABLED=false.

Default: 0 (or an environment variable for supported CI providers)

Available:

  • 0: Fallback Mode is enabled according to KNAPSACK_PRO_FALLBACK_MODE_ENABLED
  • > 0: Fallback Mode is disabled and Knapsack Pro raises an error if the API cannot be reached after KNAPSACK_PRO_MAX_REQUEST_RETRIES tries

KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_TOTAL​

Total number of parallel CI nodes.

Default: Knapsack Pro will take it from the CI environment (see supported CIs)

If your CI is not supported, you need to set it manually.

KNAPSACK_PRO_COMMIT_HASH​

Hash of the commit under test.

You don't need to set it if either:

  • Your CI is one of the supported CIs
  • You are using KNAPSACK_PRO_REPOSITORY_ADAPTER=git and KNAPSACK_PRO_PROJECT_DIR

KNAPSACK_PRO_CUCUMBER_QUEUE_PREFIX (Cucumber, Queue Mode)​

Prefix to use when invoking Cucumber tests.

Default: "bundle exec"

Available:

KNAPSACK_PRO_ENDPOINT (Internal)​

Default: https://api.knapsackpro.com

KNAPSACK_PRO_FALLBACK_MODE_ENABLED​

Enable/disable Fallback Mode.

Default: true

Available:

  • false: Knapsack Pro will fail the build after KNAPSACK_PRO_MAX_REQUEST_RETRIES
  • true: Knapsack Pro will switch to Fallback Mode after KNAPSACK_PRO_MAX_REQUEST_RETRIES

KNAPSACK_PRO_FALLBACK_MODE_ERROR_EXIT_CODE​

Set the exit code to use in case Knapsack Pro fails because it cannot switch to Fallback Mode.

Default: 1

KNAPSACK_PRO_FIXED_QUEUE_SPLIT (Queue Mode)​

Dynamic or fixed tests split when retrying a CI build.

Default: automagically set to the correct value for your CI provider

Available:

  • false: generate a new split when KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_BUILD_ID changes (see what Knapsack Pro uses as node_build_id for your CI provider)
  • true: if the triplet (branch name, commit hash, number of nodes) was already split in a previous build use the same split, otherwise generate a new split

Recommended:

  • true when your CI allows retrying single CI nodes (e.g., Buildkite, GitHub Actions) or if your CI nodes are spot instances/preemptible
  • true when your CI uses the same KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_BUILD_ID on retries (e.g., GitHub Actions, Travis, CodeShip)
  • false otherwise

KNAPSACK_PRO_FIXED_TEST_SUITE_SPLIT (Regular Mode)​

Dynamic or fixed tests split when retrying a CI build.

Default: true

Available:

  • false: generate a new split when KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_BUILD_ID changes (see what Knapsack Pro uses as node_build_id for your CI provider)
  • true: if the triplet (branch name, commit hash, number of nodes) was already split in a previous build use the same split, otherwise generate a new split

Recommended:

  • true when your CI allows retrying single CI nodes (e.g., Buildkite, GitHub Actions) or if your CI nodes are spot instances/preemptible
  • true when your CI uses the same KNAPSACK_PRO_CI_NODE_BUILD_ID on retries (e.g., GitHub Actions, Travis, CodeShip)
  • false otherwise

KNAPSACK_PRO_LOG_DIR​

Default: stdout

Available: stdout | directory

When KNAPSACK_PRO_LOG_DIR=log, Knapsack Pro will write logs to the log directory and append the CI node index to the name. For example:

  • log/knapsack_pro_node_0.log
  • log/knapsack_pro_node_1.log

KNAPSACK_PRO_LOG_LEVEL​

Default: info

Available: debug | info | warn | error | fatal

Recommended: debug when debugging issues, info to know what Knapsack Pro is doing

For legacy versions of knapsack_pro older than 7.0, please click here.

Default: debug

KNAPSACK_PRO_MAX_REQUEST_RETRIES​

Max amount of request attempts to try before switching to Fallback Mode. Retries respect a linear back-off.

Default:

  • 6 when KNAPSACK_PRO_FALLBACK_MODE_ENABLED=false
  • 6 in Regular Mode
  • 3 otherwise

Available: number

KNAPSACK_PRO_MODE (Internal)​

Default: production

Available:

  • production sets KNAPSACK_PRO_ENDPOINT to https://api.knapsackpro.com
  • development sets KNAPSACK_PRO_ENDPOINT to http://api.knapsackpro.test:3000
  • test sets KNAPSACK_PRO_ENDPOINT to https://api-staging.knapsackpro.com

KNAPSACK_PRO_MODIFY_DEFAULT_RSPEC_FORMATTERS (Removed, RSpec)​

caution

This feature was removed in knapsack_pro version 7.0, as it is no longer needed.

For legacy versions of knapsack_pro older than 7.0, please click here.

Enable/disable monkey patching of the RSpec Formatters. You may want to set it to false if it interferes with your custom formatter.

Default: true

Available:

  • true: Show the summary of pending and failed tests only at the end of the test run.
  • false: Show the summary of pending and failed tests after each intermediate batch of tests fetched from the Queue API. The summary is cumulative so you will the same tests mentioned multiple times, though they are executed only once.

KNAPSACK_PRO_PROJECT_DIR​

Absolute path to the project directory (containing .git/) on the CI node.

Required with KNAPSACK_PRO_REPOSITORY_ADAPTER=git.

Default: unset

Example: /home/ubuntu/my-app-repository

KNAPSACK_PRO_REPOSITORY_ADAPTER​

Controls how Knapsack Pro sets KNAPSACK_PRO_BRANCH and KNAPSACK_PRO_COMMIT_HASH.

Default: unset

Available:

  • unset: Knapsack Pro will take KNAPSACK_PRO_BRANCH and KNAPSACK_PRO_COMMIT_HASH from the CI environment (see supported CIs)
  • git (requires KNAPSACK_PRO_PROJECT_DIR): Knapsack Pro will set KNAPSACK_PRO_BRANCH and KNAPSACK_PRO_COMMIT_HASH using git on your CI

KNAPSACK_PRO_SLOW_TEST_FILE_PATTERN (Internal, RSpec)​

Split by test examples only files matching the pattern (instead of letting Knapsack Pro decide for you).

Requires KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_SPLIT_BY_TEST_EXAMPLES=true, and must be subset of KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN.

This is supposed to be used by gem developers for debugging Knapsack Pro. But if you decide to use it, provide a short list of slow test files. If the matched files are too many, the test suite may slow down or fail: the Knapsack Pro API could time out, or CI could run out of memory.

Default: unset

Available: anything that Dir.glob accepts

Example:

KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_SPLIT_BY_TEST_EXAMPLES=true \
KNAPSACK_PRO_SLOW_TEST_FILE_PATTERN="{spec/models/user_spec.rb,spec/controllers/**/*_spec.rb}"

Make sure to read the details in Split by test examples.

KNAPSACK_PRO_SLOW_TEST_FILE_THRESHOLD (Internal)​

Set the time threshold above which test files are split by test cases (instead of letting Knapsack Pro decide for you).

Requires KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_SPLIT_BY_TEST_EXAMPLES=true.

This is supposed to be used by gem developers for debugging Knapsack Pro. But if you decide to use it, provide a big enough positive number. If the threshold is too low, it may match too many files and the test suite may slow down or fail: the Knapsack Pro API could time out, or CI could run out of memory.

Default: not set

Available: not set | seconds

Example:

# 180 seconds (3 minutes)
KNAPSACK_PRO_SLOW_TEST_FILE_THRESHOLD=180

KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_SPLIT_BY_TEST_EXAMPLES (RSpec)​

Parallelize test examples (instead of files) across CI nodes.

caution
  • Requires RSpec >= 3.3.0
  • Does not support run_all_when_everything_filtered
  • Does not support --tag
KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_SPLIT_BY_TEST_EXAMPLES=true

Make sure to read the details in Split by test examples.

KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_TEST_EXAMPLE_DETECTOR_PREFIX (RSpec)​

Customize the prefix used for generating test examples report when using KNAPSACK_PRO_RSPEC_SPLIT_BY_TEST_EXAMPLES=true.

Default: "bundle exec"

Available:

  • "bundle exec"
  • "MY_CUSTOM_VARIABLE='value' bundle exec" in case you need to pass a custom environment variable to the rake knasack_pro:rspec_test_example_detector task that generates a test examples report of slow test files
  • try "" to remove the bundle exec prefix in case of issues

KNAPSACK_PRO_SALT​

Salt to use to Encrypt Test File Names or Branch Names.

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_DIR (Cucumber)​

Passed as-is to Cucumber's --require.

Default: features

Available: any folder or file relative to the root of your project

Example:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_DIR="features/support/cucumber_config.rb"

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_DIR (RSpec)​

Passed as-is to RSpec's --default-path.

Default: spec

Available: any folder relative to the root of your project that contains spec_helper.rb

Example:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_DIR=spec KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN="{spec,engines/*/spec}/**/*_spec.rb"
caution

You may need to make your test files require spec_helper with:

require_relative 'spec_helper' # ✅ Good

require 'spec_helper' # ⛔️ Bad

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN​

Exclude tests matching a pattern. It can be used in tandem with KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN.

Default: unset

Available: anything that Dir.glob accepts

Hint: you can debug Dir.glob(MY_GLOB) in irb or rails console

Examples:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN="spec/features/**{,/*/**}/*_spec.rb"
# or
KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN="spec/controllers/**{,/*/**}/*_spec.rb" \
KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN="spec/controllers/admin/**{,/*/**}/*_spec.rb"

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_LIST​

Comma-separated list of tests to run. When KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_LIST is set, both KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN and KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN are ignored.

Default: unset

Example:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_LIST=spec/features/dashboard_spec.rb,spec/models/user.rb:10,spec/models/user.rb:29

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_LIST_SOURCE_FILE​

File containing the list of relative paths of tests to run. When KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_LIST_SOURCE_FILE is set, both KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN and KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN are ignored.

Default: unset

Example:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_LIST_SOURCE_FILE=spec/fixtures/list.txt

# ✅ list.txt
./spec/test1_spec.rb
spec/test2_spec.rb[1]
./spec/test3_spec.rb[1:2:3:4]
./spec/test4_spec.rb:4
./spec/test4_spec.rb:5

# ⛔️ list.txt
/home/user123/project/spec/test1_spec.rb
/home/user123/project/spec/test2_spec.rb[1]
/home/user123/project/spec/test3_spec.rb[1:2:3:4]
/home/user123/project/spec/test4_spec.rb:4
/home/user123/project/spec/test4_spec.rb:5

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN​

caution

Make sure to match individual files by adding the suffix (e.g., _spec.rb, _test.rb) so that Knapsack Pro can split by file and not by directory.

Run tests matching a pattern. It can be used in tandem with KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN.

Default: all tests for the given test runner

Available: anything that Dir.glob accepts

Hint: you can debug Dir.glob(MY_GLOB) in irb or rails console

Examples:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN="spec/system/**/*_spec.rb"
# or
KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_DIR=spec KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN="{spec,engines/*/spec}/**/*_spec.rb"
# or
KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_PATTERN="spec/controllers/**{,/*/**}/*_spec.rb" \
KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILE_EXCLUDE_PATTERN="spec/controllers/admin/**{,/*/**}/*_spec.rb"

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_FILES_ENCRYPTED​

Enable Test File Names Encryption.

Default: false

Available: false | true

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_*​

  • KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_RSPEC
  • KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_CUCUMBER
  • KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_MINITEST
  • KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_TEST_UNIT
  • KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_SPINACH

API token required to run Knapsack Pro.

Each Knapsack Pro command defined on CI should use an individual API token.

Example:

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_RSPEC=MY_RSPEC_API_TOKEN \
  bundle exec rake knapsack_pro:queue:rspec

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_RSPEC=MY_OTHER_RSPEC_API_TOKEN \
  bundle exec rake knapsack_pro:queue:rspec[--tag tagA]

KNAPSACK_PRO_TEST_SUITE_TOKEN_CUCUMBER=MY_CUCUMBER_API_TOKEN \
  bundle exec rake knapsack_pro:queue:cucumber

KNAPSACK_PRO_USER_SEAT​

A user name that started the CI build. It is usually the same person that made the git commit.

You don't need to set it if:

  • Your CI is one of the supported CIs, and we can read the user seat for the given CI provider.

Examples:

KNAPSACK_PRO_USER_SEAT="John Doe <john.doe@example.com>"